Female leaders in NSW Public Sector honoured last night

Last night at Parliament House Sydney, 50 of NSW’s top performers in the state’s Public Sector were honoured and recognised for their work as they were named on the inaugural Top 50 Public Sector Women (NSW) List.

The Top 50 initiative was held for the first time last year in Victoria and was so well received, the organisers, Davidson in partnership with NSW Government and SEEK, introduced the event to NSW and received an overwhelming response.

Clare McCartin, Group General Manager for Davidson Executive & Boards and founder of the Top 50 initiative, said there had seen significant moves to redress gender imbalance in leadership within the state’s public sector.

“Women make up 64.4 per cent of the NSW Public Sector workforce, and hold only 37.4 per cent of leadership positions, the NSW Public Service Commission Workforce Profile 2017 reveals,” Ms McCartin said. “And within the 128 local councils in NSW, women hold 14 per cent of CEO or General Manager positions; there is clearly scope to increase the number and visibility of female leaders.

“The Top 50 Public Sector Women (NSW) List is a milestone event for NSW. This is the first initiative of its kind that directly targets women in the NSW Public Sector, providing a platform to acknowledge some of the best female leaders.

Elizabeth Koff, Secretary of NSW Health was the Lead Judge for this year’s NSW top 50 list and MC of last night’s event at NSW Parliament House, Sydney.

Ms Koff said the initiative was an important step towards encouraging and promoting women to strive for and be successful at senior positions within the State’s Public Sector.

“Across local, state and federal government as well as statutory authorities, the Public Sector in NSW has a significant number of exceptional female leaders building high performing teams and transforming their communities,” she said.

“The Top 50 provides an opportunity to acknowledge exceptional female leaders in the Public Sector within NSW, and shine a light on these leaders as role models for all women in the sector.”

The women who have been named on the list will have the opportunity to win one of six scholarships to Davidson’s Leadership Acceleration Program, will attend exclusive networking events and, critically will be invited to attend Top 50 Alumnae thought leadership events.

The women to be named on the inaugural Top 50 Public Sector Women (NSW) List were: